Nutrition and Hydration Week

Nutrition is a huge part of the personal development sessions we deliver within schools. Getting your nutrition right not only helps with physical health but also significantly contributes to one’s mental health, better preparing young people to succeed in school. We deliver a three-week block around this important topic in our Schools Programme.

The first session we deliver is all about identifying the separate food groups and what they do for our body. Using the NHS Eatwell Plate we ask our participants to create a balanced meal and present this to the group. The second week looks at making positive choices and how to cut down sugar intake in a healthy way. We also explore hydration, how to recognise when you are becoming dehydrated and the importance of hydration for brain and body function. The final session is all about sugary drinks, which is the top sugar supply for young people. We often find that the best way to get through to our young people is to show rather than tell so we give them a practical exercise, which involves the groups measuring out the sugar content of popular drinks. This particular session always leaves our young participants in awe – one of our boys had consumed a bottle of Irn-Bru, a small milkshake and a crispy bar just before one of the sessions and was gobsmacked when he calculated that he’d consumed over four times the recommended sugar intake in just one sitting!

SOHK Schools Programmes Nutrition Posters

In all of these sessions there is an emphasis on the fact that what we eat affects how we feel. Many of our young people will have some knowledge of the importance of nutrition for physical health through their science or PSHE classes, but often they won’t know about the positive impact that good nutrition has on mental wellbeing. We ensure that we teach our young participants that good nutrition is as much about being mentally healthy as it is about being physically healthy. It is also incredibly important to us that we educate our young people about body image and make sure that they do not mistake good nutrition as part of ‘diet culture’. We deliver various sessions that look at this subject which has grown to be vital to our Schools Programmes in the age of social media. Through various practices School of Hard Knocks teaches that being healthy and happy does not equate to having any certain body type.

Nutrition is now becoming as important a topic in our Adult Courses. Many of our adult participants come from low-income backgrounds and lack the skills to cook nutritious recipes, so School of Hard Knocks has started to integrate cookery classes into some our courses. Working with Edinburgh-based charity Fresh Start, we take our participants to weekly cookery classes where they learn how to make various different nutritious meals. The feedback has been fantastic with many of our participants continuing to attend classes at Fresh Start - we look forward to making these sessions, highlighting the importance of good nutrition, a core part of some SOHK’s courses.

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I’m writing to you today because we urgently need your help.The lockdown, caused by the Coronavirus, has hit School of Hard Knocks pretty hard and has placed real strain on our resources and finances. I’m not saying we’ve been knocked down; let’s call it a pretty hefty blow! But if there is ever a time we have to practice what we preach, it is now. Why? Because I honestly believe that the need for our work in the UK will soon be greater, by some distance, than at any other time in our existence.

This week is Nutrition and Hydration Week, so we thought we’d share some of work we do around nutrition in schools. Nutrition is a huge part of the personal development sessions we deliver within schools. Getting your nutrition right not only helps with physical health but also significantly contributes to one’s mental health, better preparing young people to succeed in school. We deliver a three-week block around this important topic in our Schools Programme.

Related

I’m writing to you today because we urgently need your help.The lockdown, caused by the Coronavirus, has hit School of Hard Knocks pretty hard and has placed real strain on our resources and finances. I’m not saying we’ve been knocked down; let’s call it a pretty hefty blow! But if there is ever a time we have to practice what we preach, it is now. Why? Because I honestly believe that the need for our work in the UK will soon be greater, by some distance, than at any other time in our existence.

This International Women’s Day, School of Hard Knocks wants to get as many girls and women talking about their achievements as possible - and that includes YOU! We want you to take to Twitter and Instagram and post about what you are proud of using the hashtag #IAmProud. We’ll be sharing what some our own staff and participants are proud of, so keep your eyes peeled and don’t forget to tag us (@sohkcharity) into your own posts!

School of Hard Knocks’ Scottish team joined Dunfermline RFC for their annual Burns Supper gathering to raise life-changing funds for both SOHK and the rugby club. School of Hard Knocks is so grateful to have such dedicated and generous supporters who share our belief that everyone should be given the opportunity to realise and fulfil their potential. The funds raised from the Burns Night Dinner will go towards empowering more children.

At School of Hard Knocks we work hard to teach our young people about the impact of words and actions on other people. part of National Anti-Bullying Week, this week in Scotland we are delivering sessions designed to encourage young people to reflect on the impact of the words and actions they direct towards others.

School of Hard Knocks is running a five-week course using rugby, boxing and mentoring to help unemployed adults to improve their confidence and wellbeing, and ultimately help them gain a career within the hospitality industry.

SOHK exists to give people back their power by delivering impactful mentoring sessions and harnessing the values of high impact sport. We often work with people in areas of high deprivation who face significant barriers to leading healthy lives and gaining employment. We address the external issues participants face that perpetuate social exclusion and provide a holistic programme with substantial support on nutrition, financial capability, help with substance abuse and mental wellbeing.

Become a Friend of SOHK and help change lives for the better. We empower vulnerable adults and children so they can create a positive future, but we need your support. Please donate just £3 per month and help us change the game.